


In a Bit of A Sticky Situation

by CaptainAwesome242



Series: Iron Dad Bingo Prompts [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidents, Gen, Hair, Irondad Bingo 2019, Laboratories, Mentor/Protégé, Precious Peter Parker, Science Experiments, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 13:26:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18717967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAwesome242/pseuds/CaptainAwesome242
Summary: Prompt - Hair PlayingTony smiled. At the time he’d been pretty embarrassed, but now, with his hands working through Peter’s inexplicably soft curls he felt very relaxed.





	In a Bit of A Sticky Situation

**Author's Note:**

> This is the only other one I had pre-written which is why it’s up so quick, but I do have more in the works!

“Hey, DUM-E, could you pass me some more mixing sticks?”

Tony smiled to himself as the bot trundled away, eager to obey Peter’s request. The boy and the robot seemed to get on like a house on fire (though Tony prayed neither of them would ever be in an ACTUAL house on fire). DUM-E was over the moon to be useful to somebody and Peter rarely left his seat anymore in favour of giving the robot little jobs to do.

It warmed Tony’s heart to see the pair of them so exited by each other, an excitement he hoped would never fade.

He was brought from his musings by a clatter from across the workshop and glanced over to see the plastic mixing sticks scattered across Peter’s desk, dropping noisily to the floor. Tony shook his head in amusement; he had warned Peter about DUM-E’s reluctance to do things gently but the kid had only smiled and said;

“He’s trying his best Mister Stark, he’ll get there eventually,”

And if that hadn’t been the purest thing to come from Peter’s mouth he didn’t know what was.

Even now, Peter was patting the robot and congratulating him on a job well done, grinning as the bot whirred happily.

“Good job, DUM-E! Now could you take that cup over to the sink? I’ll wash it later,”

The last part was aimed more at Tony, who acknowledged him with a slight incline of his head, feigning indifference as he tinkered away. It wouldn’t bode well for his ego if the kid knew he’d stopped working properly a while back in favour of observing his protégé. 

Peter hopped down from his stool and began to collect the mixing sticks that were littered across the floor. Tony wondered if his entire stock was now on the floor considering how far they were spread; he typed a quiet reminder to FRIDAY to get more. 

The silence of the lab was suddenly interrupted by a  thunk! followed by an alarmed cry and the shattering of glass.

Tony was on his feet in a heartbeat; gauntlets assembled around his hands and muscles coiled in anticipation of a fight. His heart fluttered almost painfully in his chest during the tense second it took for Tony to assess the situation, slowing only fractionally when he realised Peter wasn’t in any immediate danger. But he still didn’t know what happened as his view of the kid was obscured behind the workstation.

A groan had his pulse kickstarting again.

He took a shaky breath, “Peter? You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m good, I just...”

Peter stood from behind the desk, and Tony’s eyes bugged at the sight before him. When DUM-E had taken the cup from the table he must have knocked the beaker of web fluid that Peter was working on over the side. The beaker must then have landed on Peter, who was under the table retrieving the mixing sticks, spilling its contents before landing on the floor and shattering. 

It was the only possible explanation for why Peter’s hair was white with webbing, his hands stuck into the mix. 

Tony didn’t know whether to cry in relief or bust something laughing. 

He settled for a strange combination of the two. 

“Mr Stark!” Peter whined, face heating up, “It’s not funny! Would you please just help me?”

The kicked puppy look on Peter’s face did wonders to help Tony regain control over himself, letting out the last of his hysterical giggles.

“Ooh, I’m sorry, kid,” Tony said, allowing the gauntlets to retract before wiping a tear, “but that was not what I was expecting,”

“Whatever, can you please just get me out of this?” Peter pleaded, a barely concealed desperation in his tone.

Tony detected it instantly but played it cool, knowing Peter would leech off of any negative emotions he displayed; the kid was like a sponge in that regard.

“Alright, alright, where’s the dissolver?” Tony glanced about Peter’s less than immaculate station.

“It’s in—  _ow!_ —in that cupboard there,” Peter had attempted to point, yanking his hair in the process. 

Tony followed Peter’s eyes and quickly located the bottle labelled ‘web dissolver’ in faded marker pen, “Got it, now come sit over here so I can get it out,”

The crunch the followed Peter’s first step had Tony’s chest tightening, “Mind the glass, we don’t need you injured as well,”

Peter picked his way carefully through the shards of glass over to Tony, eyes looking at anything but the man’s face as he sat down in Tony’s chair. In any other situation he would have been beside himself to sit in his idol’s chair but now it barely registered, wishing instead to be sat on a trapdoor that would swallow him whole.

With Peter’s back to him Tony could finally let the trepidation show on his face - how on Earth was he supposed to detangle this!?

“Well, let’s get your hands free, that seems like a good place to start,” Tony said lightly, keeping his tone even. He could feel the embarrassment coming off of Peter in waves and he didn’t want to make it worse; he figured if he at least had his hands back that would help.

Tony popped the cap and gave the contents a cursory sniff, “There’s nothing harmful in here, right?”

“No, it’s all skin friendly. Didn’t want to burn someone if I had to unstick them,” Peter muttered.

Tony smiled proudly at the boy’s thoughtfulness, thinking how much it came in handy right now. He was also suddenly remembering the time Peter had webbed him up and he’d had to be freed. A dark look passed over his face as he shoved the memories of that time back down into the recesses of his mind. A therapist could put their kids through college one day trying to straighten out the train wreck that was his mind, but for now repression was his friend.

Shaking his head he returned his attention to the situation at hand. 

After a few small squirts did very little Tony poured on a slightly larger amount, and waited. 

“Um...” Peter started sheepishly, “it kinda helps if you rub it in a little,”

Tony threw all thoughts of personal boundaries out the window and pushed his sleeves to his elbows. He thought about removing his watch but decided it didn’t matter; he had plenty more anyways. 

He quickly got stuck in, seeing no point in mincing about the issue or delaying getting that smile back on Peter’s face. Luckily there was no webbing on the backs of his hands so Tony concentrated on trying to get underneath them, millimetre by millimetre.

“This is really strong stuff, is it stronger than your normal webs?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, I was working on making it harder to cut with a blade,” Peter said, “it’s amazing how many people carry knives these days,”

Tony didn’t really want to think about Peter anywhere near a knife, “Does it last longer?”

Peter attempted to shrug, “Don’t know, didn’t get to test it yet,” 

“Well, no time like the present,” Tony declared, and Peter laughed in spite of himself.

At that moment DUM-E slowly approached, a single mixing stick grasped in his claw. He whined mournfully as he extended it towards Peter.

“Sorry’s not gonna cut it, buddy, look at the kid’s hair,” Tony said, just as he managed to get Peter’s right hand free.

“Aw, it was an accident, Mr Stark,” Peter defended, using his newly free hand to accept the offering, “thanks, DUM-E,”

Tony rolled his eyes fondly; the kid could get punched in the face and forgive the guy if he apologised. It was refreshing to be around someone so genuine and compassionate; he just worried about his good nature being abused.

DUM-E perked right up before rolling away, disappearing off to who knows where. Tony fixed his attention back on freeing Peter’s other hand, which came unstuck slightly quicker than his right.

The next few moments passed by quietly, with Peter picking the last remaining stringy bits off his hands and Tony working to get his hair free.

“This wasn’t how I imagined today going” Peter said despondently.

“Don’t sweat it, this kinda thing happens, especially when DUM-E gets involved; he sprayed me with a fire extinguisher once and I wasn’t even on fire,”

“Really?” Peter asked, his amusement barely concealed.

Tony smiled, “Yeah, it was the first flight test for the mark 2 thrusters, and for lack of a better option I had DUM-E on firewatch. I kinda underestimated the power and slammed into the wall, and DUM-E decided to gas me with the extinguisher,”

Peter’s shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter.

“It’s alright, laugh it out. It is pretty funny,” Tony said, “Here; FRIDAY bring up the footage,”

“With pleasure, Boss,” FRIDAY answered as the screen on Tony’s desk lit up. 

Tony watched himself on the screen as he readied himself on the testing platform. He felt an unexpected pang in his chest as he saw his old lab and remembered what had become of it. He missed his old work space. 

_“Okay... activate hand controls,”_ The Tony on screen said before adjusting his position,  _“we’re gonna start off nice and easy...”_

Tony felt himself tensing up in anticipation of the hit he knew was coming - it had _really_ hurt .

He saw Peter’s shoulders twitching as he waited with bated breath, unsure of what he was about to see. 

Tony smiled. At the time he’d been pretty embarrassed, but now, with his hands working through Peter’s inexplicably soft curls he felt very relaxed. Like, insanely relaxed - even after being matted down with gunk the kid’s hair was ridiculously soft, and as Tony twirled it through his fingers he began to understand why Pepper loved playing with _his_ hair  so much. It was incredibly soothing.

Peter’s surprised laugh echoed through the lab as the footage finished.

“Mr Stark... I’m so sorry...” He gasped out between wheezes, “...you just...” he used his hands to mime the speed at which Tony hit the wall, “it was so sudden!”

The kid’s laugh was infectious and Tony couldn’t resist joining him, “Yeah, it kinda took me by surprise too,”

Peter’s giggles filled the room as Tony continued his ministrations, making a mental note to check what hair products the kid used and make sure they never go out of business.

They lapsed into a much more comfortable silence for a few more moments.

“How’s it going?” Peter asked, reaching up to touch his hair.

“Ah!” Tony scolded, slapping his hand away, “you wanna get that stuck again? I’m almost done, kid,”

He neglected to mention that he’d finished getting the webbing out nearly five minutes ago.


End file.
